Sea Biscuit

[nathanlee]

ok, it's another sea horse thread, but I was wondering (and please can we do this without conjecture or unfounded opinion).

Sea horses are there, ok, and anchors DO cause some damage, no matter how small. You can't deny they do sometimes come up with a clump of weed attached. Ok, so given this, despite whether it is unsustainably damaging their habitat, would it not be fair, in the interests of conservation and indeed as testament to the decency us yachtsmen, to do a voluntary no anchor zone.

It doesn't need to be massive, does it?

A few buoys in a couple of hundred meter square, or something?

Just a thought.

 

[jhr]

This has been done elsewhere (for example, in the Helford River, iirc) to protect eelgrass and I believe it is normally respected by yachtsmen of all persuasions. The result, unfortunately, is that there aren't many places that you can now anchor with safety down there, since eelgrass seems to like shelter from the prevailing winds and good holding and most other good anchorages are covered in swinging moorings /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif.

I really don't know the answer to this. Some kind of compromise would be nice but that doesn't seem likely when the objective of the Seahorse Trust appears to be the imposition of a total anchoring ban /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif.

 

[nathanlee]

[ QUOTE ]

I really don't know the answer to this. Some kind of compromise would be nice but that doesn't seem likely when the objective of the Seahorse Trust appears to be the imposition of a total anchoring ban /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif.

[/ QUOTE ]

The sea horse trust can pay for moorings to be put there, perhaps subsidised a little by the RYA, just to play fair. They won't drag, and won't harm the sea bed, once set.

 

[exfinnsailor]

If you put down fixed moorings then they still need to be lifted for checking etc .. They also have a chain that is pulled around by the bouy on the surface which must dislodge far more over a year than an odd anchor .. You get 1460 chain movements a year scraping the sea bed ..

 

[fireball]

No - for the eco friendly moorings they suspend the chain off the seabed ...

http://www.ezyridermooring.com/index.html?art=1

 

[sarabande]

I cannot see that working in the way they describe in areas such as the Bristol Channel with a huge tidal range. There's bound to be some riser dumped on the seabed at some stage.

 

[fireball]

Dunno - I guess it's down to CD and max tidal difference ... but nothing to stop having 2 sections of chain on lift buoys ... might have a problem with tangling though?

 

[sighmoon]

There are mooring buoys, for instance on Skomer, (which are there to stop people anchoring in Seagrass), so the experiment has been done. I don't know who would have the results though.

 

[glashen]

The present position at Studland is that there is to be a voluntary no anchoring zone of 100 x 100 meters to assess whether the eel grass is in decline due to anchoring.

Below is a quote from the crown estates document detailing the survey

"SeaStar Survey 1 has recently been appointed by The Crown Estate and Natural England to undertake an independent scientific study aimed at quantifying any possible impacts on seagrass health and associated marine life. The study is expected to commence in June 2009 and will involve establishing a voluntary no-anchor zone in Studland Bay to help understand the impacts of anchoring in an area where this activity is controlled as well as in areas where management remains unchanged. The Crown Estate and Natural England look forward to the successful completion of the study.
Background
Although Studland is home to Britain’s largest known colony of seahorses they are often difficult to spot and to monitor therefore relatively little is known about populations. At present there is also no robust scientific data on the decrease or increase of seagrass or on the health of the seahorse population.
There is some photographic evidence that anchors can cause large clumps of seagrass to become detached and that mooring chains “scour” the seabed creating bald patches. There is also a perception that this is causing long-term damage to the seagrass and in turn may threaten the seahorses and other fauna which make their home in the seagrass. To date this link has not been proven. Indeed, while individual moorings may, due to poor design, damage the seagrass in their immediate surroundings it has also been suggested that their presence may indirectly benefit the seagrass by halting destructive scallop dredging and trawling within the Bay as vessels of this nature are no longer able to manoeuvre sufficiently within the Bay. Local opinion is that the extent of the seagrass has increased considerably over the last 20-30 years as a direct result. There is also a suggestion that occasional scouring of the seabed could enhance the habitat."

Many of us support the Crown Estates position as reasonable and balanced however. the Seahorse Trust appear to believe this response is inadequate and a waste of money, there are others who oppose the survey since they claim there is no damage to the eel grass.

It is a shame that both extremes can't get behind the survey and ensure it provides a proper basis for action.

 

[lesweeks]

In order to protect the delicate corals found in the Whitsunday Islands in Queensland, Oz, they have a number of no-anchor zones, but in each the Authorities provide a number of free mooring buoys, on a first come-first served basis. If you're too late to get on a buoy you have to anchor outside a designated line. This obviously seems to work despite there being up to a 6 metre tidal range where, I guess, the chains do a certain amount of damage. But this is a known, accepted, amount and, I dare say, much less than an unknown amount of damage that may be caused by random anchoring.
My experience is that most yachties (don't know many Stink Boat men) appreciate the nature that provides the wind and the waves and the creatures that live beneath. Some compromise must be in the interest of all.